Today kind of sucks for me. I had to go to the hospital to have a procedure done. Don’t freak out. It is nothing serious. My GI doctor wanted me to have this test (procedure) done to check to see how much acid I have that might be coming up from my stomach and causing me problems.
There were two test to be done. The first one took about an hour to perform. I had the privilege of having a tube (she said it was a pediatric one at that) stuck through my nose that she then had to slide down into my belly. Well, through this process I found out that I have a terrible gag reflex. The first time she tried she had to actually stop and take it back out because it was so bad that I just started coughing and hacking. Tears were streaming down my eyes. I must have looked like a raccoon once it was all said and done due to my make up and mascara.
Over the next hour she slowly took out the tube. When I say slowly I mean it was about an inch to a half inch at a time. I was never so happy as when it was finally all the way out. I went into the bathroom to clean up my face. Man I looked like a mess and I did look like a racoon after all. I wish I had not worn makeup today but who would have thunk all this would have happened.
The best part about all of this is I still had to do the other test. (NOT!!) This test I get the privilege having another tube stuck down my nose that goes into my belly. Not for one hour. Not even for two. The winner is: 24 HOURS! Yeah for me. (Just a little sarcasm there goes a long way LOL.) This test will be checking for acid over the next twenty four hours to see how far any acid reflux goes up into my throat, if any.
On the little monitor I can see the two pHs being monitored. On the tube one monitor is closer to my stomach and the other is closer to my throat. My hope is that it will show why I have been having all these swallowing/coughing problems. I feel fortunate that I have not really felt any real acid reflux issues over the years if I have that problem. I mean, I know I get heartburn once in a while, or at least I feel it once in a while, but it has never felt really bad.
With the tube down my throat it is hard to talk and swallow. When I talk it makes me want to gag because I can feel the tube back there. When I eat it moves the tube up and down and it just hurts in my nose. Anytime I think I feel heartburn/acid reflux, I am to put the time from the machine down on this diary sheet and mark an X in the column for heartburn. I also have to do this when I eat or drink anything besides water and when I lay down for any length of time.
I just look at the end result as I will be able to be one step closer to finding out what is exactly wrong with me. I have been having issues with my swallowing for years or I would suddenly have a coughing fit in the middle of the night where I would have to sit straight up in my bed as a result. You might be wondering what I mean by “swallowing issues.” Sometimes when I eat, but mostly when I drink something, it “goes down the wrong pipe” so to speak. Basically the flap that is at the top of your throat that is supposed to keep food and drink from getting into your lungs for some reason is not working right with me which allows the food/drink to go to the wrong place. Hence the coughing attacks when eating/drinking. My hope is that through all of this we will be able to get me on some type of medication to fix it or to do some minor procedure to help it. I guess we will find out soon enough.
(I wrote this yesterday but waited to post this until today)